AFTER EFFECTS

For a teenage Doctor Who fan, the opportunity to work on the series was a life-changing experience.

Steve Cambden visits the set of Destiny of the Daleks on 15 July 1979. K9 operator Nigel Brackley, pictured outside Television Centre on the same day.

In the 1970s I was a big Doctor Who fan who got exceptionally lucky. The BBC’s Visual Effects Department wasn’t supposed to employ anyone under the age of 21, but I was just 16 when I became K9’s assistant operator.

K9 operator Nigel Brackley, pictured outside Television Centre on the same day.

About Doctor Who Magazine

Special effects can transport audiences to alien planets, render familiar surroundings unrecognisable and bring terrifying monsters to life. Doctor Who has been at the forefront of such television trickery for more than 50 years. This richly illustrated publication celebrates the series’ greatest effects and meets the people who created them. From the trailblazers of the 1960s to the digital artists of today, here is the story of Doctor Who’s journeys into the impossible.